Shadow Moon 2: Silver Eclipse
by Pegasister556
Summary: Shadow has spent 2 years wandering Equestria, but has finally settled in Appaloosa, even starting a small romance with a flower shop clerk, Daisy Bloom. But when his former lover, Silver, now the leader of a group called the Supreme Horn returns for revenge, Shadow must rally the town to defend themselves lest Silver destroy them in her quest for revenge. WARNING: Blood and Gore
1. Days Gone By

The tavern was relatively a rowdy place, music playing and ponies chattering. The tavern owner didn't mind. It was always like this. A new pony had come to town. Mysterious one. No one really knew where he came from or who he was. Appaloosa wasn't the largest place in Equestria, and it's fairly noticeable when someone new came to town. Especially someone so strange. No past. No friends. No relatives. He always wore a cloak that covered him completely. People could only catch glimpses of him under it. Just as the tavern owner was thinking about him, he walked in the doors. He hoped he wasn't going to cause a scene. He couldn't help but be suspicious. The mysterious pony sat down at the bar. "Apple cider please." He said. His voice was low. "Sure." He poured a mug of cider and slided it to him. He picked it up and drank it in one gulp. "Thanks." He left a few bits on the bar. "Keep the change." He began to leave, and as he approached the door, a gust of wind blew his hood down. He was a unicorn, but his horn… It had been sawed off. Someone else noticed, too. "What the hell?" The pony cried. The cloaked one turned, and pulled his hood up swiftly. "What are you looking at?" He asked. The pony backed away. "Whoa, I don't have a problem with you." He said, his voice shaking. "Hey now, don't cause a scene." The bartender said.

"Don't worry." The cloaked pony said, He turned and left the tavern, and walked down the dusty Appaloosa street to the rented flat he was living in above a flower shop. He passed the clerk. She was the owner's daughter. A cute but kind of geeky pony with glasses named Daisy Bloom. She sheepishly waved at him as he walked up the stairs. He just wanted to be alone right now. He unlocked the door to his room and entered. He pulled off his cloak and hanged it on the coat rack. He sat down on the couch and spread his wings. Shadow looked around the modestly decorated room. It would do for now. He wasn't working. The place was nice enough. The only other places he had lived in were a dilapidated house, a luxurious townhouse in Canterlot, and the royal palace, so he didn't really have a great idea of what normal houses were like. Shadow's magic still sort of worked, even with his horn sawed off. He barely knew why he had done it. Some fit of self loathing had prompted it. It had been a few years since he left Silver. He had generally wandered around the country until arriving here. He liked the country. The open plains. The dry, warm climate. Sometimes he missed Silver, but he knew that leaving her was for the best.

After reading for about an hour, Shadow decided he needed to take a walk to clear his head. The sun was beginning to set. He put on his cloak and set off. He walked down the stairs and saw Daisy closing up the shop. "Hey, can you, uh, help me out with this crate?" She suddenly asked, and gestured towards a crate full of flowers. "It's, uh, kind of heavy…" She said. "Oh, uh, sure." Shadow said. They picked up the crate together and carried it into the storage room. "Hey, um, I'm Daisy. I never got your name." She said. "Oh, my name's, um… Shade. Shade Crescent." He said. "Oh, cool name." She said. They stared at each other kind of awkwardly. "Well, I'm gonna head off for my walk now." He said. "Oh! Of course. Alright." She said, and he turned and left.

Shadow walked through the streets. Eventually he came to an alleyway. He decided to walk in. It was cold, and the sun had set. He would've headed back soon, but then two muscular stallions stepped in front of him. "Don't try to run." One said. Shadow noticed two more behind him. "Just give us your things." Shadow turned. "I don't want any trouble." He said. "You're gonna get some if you don't-" he was cut off as Shadow let out a fractured burst of magic from his horn, blasting him back. "What the hell?!" One of them yelled. Shadow charged the other one and knocked him over, before unleashing two more blasts at the other running from the alley. The first pony got up and tackled Shadow away from his friend. "You're gonna die, boy." He said, and began to beat Shadow with his hooves. Shadow tried to resist but the stallion was too heavy and too strong. Shadow was going to be beaten to a pulp, when he unleashed a blast of magic into the stallion's face, knocking him back and blinding him. The last one got up at the same time Shadow did. Shadow just stared at him and he ran.

Shadow walked back to the flower shop, and when he entered, Daisy gasped. "Oh my Celestia! Shade! What happened to you?" She asked, racing over to him. "Nothing I couldn't handle." He said. "We need to get those wounds cleaned. Come with me." She pulled him into the back room where she pulled some antiseptic from a first aid kit. "Just take off your hood." She said. "Um… I…" He stuttered, but she pulled the hood down anyway, revealing his sawn off horn. "Holy… What did you…" She stepped back. "It doesn't matter. Just… Just clean the wounds." He said. "Uh, sure…" She said, and treated the wounds with antiseptic before bandaging them. "Who did this?" She asked. "Just some morons in an alley. I took care of it." He said. "Oh no… Was it the Supreme Horn?" She asked, a scared look in her eyes. "What the hell is that?" Shadow responded.

"The Supreme Horn is a group of unicorn supremacists. They think earth ponies and pegasi are weaker than them because we don't have magic. They're the only group like that that's actually well organized. They have a ton of unicorns in their army and some really powerful wizards. They haven't really done anything major yet but everyone's really paranoid about them." She explained. "What the hell? Why hasn't anyone done anything about them?" He asked. "Well, they haven't actually committed any crimes yet. At least none that they've been caught committing. Some of their members go out and beat up pegasi and earth ponies, but they never admit they're part of the group, even when everyone knows they are. Some members make speeches in public too. They're so horrible! I know all unicorns aren't like this, but it just makes me so mad! All ponies are equal." She said. "What is this world coming too. My Celestia…" He said. She finished with his wounds. "There you go. You should probably rest." She said. "Yeah." He said, making his way to the door. Then he stopped. "Hey, Daisy." She turned around. "Thanks for helping me out." He said. "No problem." She said, and he walked upstairs.

Shadow took off his cloak once again and lay down in bed. He needed to rest. He couldn't believe those thugs gave him so much trouble. He was out of shape. His magic was the only thing that had saved him, and even then it wasn't going to be much use soon. He could feel its power fading. Shadow needed help. He needed to get back to his peak again. He knew that Supreme Horn group would make a move. They didn't even know who he was, but he didn't want them to be a threat to anypony. He knew who he had to pay a visit the next day.


	2. The Supreme Horn

Shadow woke up the next morning, extremely sore from his fight the previous night. He was going on a trip today, to Canterlot. He needed to see an old friend about his problems. He threw on his cloak and walked downstairs to see Daisy setting up the shop. "Hey, Shade." She said. He stopped and turned to her. "Hey, I'm heading out of town just for today, alright?" He said. "Sure." She said. "Have a good time!" She called after him as he left.

He walked to the train station and bought his two-way ticket to Canterlot. About ten minutes later, the train arrived. He got on, and it sped off on its way. There were only a few stops between Canterlot and Appaloosa, but the ride was still fairly long. Shadow began to fall asleep to the rhythmic chugging of the train. Minutes later, he was awoken by the train stopping. He heard ponies began to get off, but a ruckus when they were stopped by… Someone. He got up and poked his head out of his compartment. Ponies were being pushed back onto the train by magical shields conjured by unicorns in beautifully crafted silver armour. They were guards. Their helmets covered their faces but left their horns free to work magic. Some of them forced ponies back on, while one in armour also adorned with golden inlays walked to each compartment flanked by two of the others.

"Compartment 33. Two earth ponies. Take them." He said, and wrote something down on a notepad. The two guards used their magic to pull the ponies from their compartment and bring them outside. "Hey! What is this?!" One of them yelled. "You are now prisoners of the Supreme Horn, filth. Get outside!" The Supreme Horn guard yelled. Shadow ducked back into his compartment. He couldn't believe it. These were the guys that Daisy was talking about. The Supreme Horn. They were grabbing any earth ponies or pegasi off the train and pulling them outside. They were almost at his compartment. He started to open the window just as they reached him. "Hey! Get him!" The pony in charge cried, and one of the guards pinned him to the floor with magic. "Take the hood off him so he can be identified." The leader said, and the other guard walked over and pulled his hood off. "What the hell?!" He cried. "He sawed his horn off!" The leader walked over. "I've never seen anything like this… Get the rest of the cloak off!" He said, and the guard holding Shadow down used his magic to pull the cloak off. "Wings! We have the only non-royal alicorn in Equestria here, men." The leader said, smirking. "He's the one we've been looking for. Get him off the train!" He cried. The guard pulled Shadow off with magic as two more joined the leader to continue their search.

Shadow was pulled outside and saw a crowd of ponies being held back by a magical shield conjured by Supreme Horn guards. Large cages were piled outside containing pegasi and earth ponies, and guards were loading them into carts that were being pulled away by enslaved buffalo. The guards pulled Shadow to a cage with an earth pony inside. Royal guards were showing up and pulling the crowds back before forming a perimeter. "Release the ponies, now!" The leader of the royal guards called. Suddenly, a pony in black armour like the Supreme Horn's but not wearing a helmet stepped out of the shadows, his red cape fluttering in the wind. He had dark gray fur and a black mane, and a scar down the right side of his face. "These degenerate ponies are the prisoners of the Supreme Horn, now. Please step back or we will be forced to take action." He cried. The leader of the royal guards didn't react. "This is kidnapping, sir. We advise you release the hostages now and surrender." He said.

The dark pony shook his head and pointed to one of the earth ponies being dragged off. "Stop! Bring her over here." He said. The guards pulled her over to him, and he levitated her into the air with his magic. "This is what happens to scum like earth ponies and pegasi that dare to think they are on the same level as unicorns." He began to close in the magical field as the pony screamed, and the leader of the royal guards gasped as she was crushed into a ball of blood and gore. The dark unicorn threw the remains at the guards with his magic, and it landed on the leader, who promptly fainted. "My Celestia!" Shadow cried. The earth pony in the cage with him only curled up and whimpered. A new royal guard took the leader's place and began issuing commands. "Open fire!" He cried, but the Supreme Horn's men acted first. Unicorns positioned on top of the train fired powerful blasts of magic that killed most of the guards, and sent the rest running. The lead pony from inside the train exited and spoke to the dark unicorn. "Yes, we've searched the whole train and extracted all the degenerates." He said. "Good. Removed the blockade and get the train moving again." The dark pony said. "Move out, men!" He cried.

Shadow managed to fall asleep on the ride to the Supreme Horn's lair. He awoke as they entered a large fortress, and he and the earth pony were removed from their cage. She was brought away by a guard, and Shadow was escorted to a room where he was locked onto a table. Probably for interrogation. The guards left, and moments later, a figure stepped into the room. An alicorn. They were completely covered from head to toe in Supreme Horn armour, and wore a white cape. Only their silver horn and hoofs were exposed. "Welcome, Shadow Moon." They said. Their helmet warped their voice enough that Shadow could not discern their gender. "Why have I been brought here?" He asked, in a hushed tone. "How do you know who I am?" The alicorn laughed from inside their helmet. "Fool. You chose to become one of those… Sickening… Degenerates!" They cried. "You, the only other non-royal alicorn in Equestria! You removed your horn. I bet your magic doesn't even work. You are worthless. Utterly worthless, Shadow Moon." They said. "But who are you?" He asked. The leader laughed once again. They began to slowly remove their helmet with magic. They had fully pulled it off. Shadow gasped.

It was Silver Lookingglass.

She smirked at him. "Long time no see, Shadow." She said. "Silver?!" He cried. "Yes. You broke my heart, Shadow. And now you're even more worthless to me. I would kill you if you still had your horn, but, I think it's more painful for you to live without it. In the slave pits. You always were a fool. Impulsive. Never waiting. You squandered all the power you had and now you've lost it. You're nothing to me anymore." She said, turning away. "How did you get this way, Silver? You were Silver Lookingglass! A police detective! You caught the eyeless killer!" He said. "No, Shadow. I framed an innocent man who died because I fell in love with a killer! A fool! An impulsive, murderous, evil fool. I was no one in ponyville. You leaving after I was turned into an alicorn gave me clarity. Everyone was weak but those with magic. Unicorns. And so I formed the Supreme Horn. And now, I am Silver Eclipse." She said, and left.


	3. Escape

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys! It's been kind of hectic now because I'm doing all my exams and stuff so I had to take a little break. THanks for waiting!

Shadow was pulled form the interrogation room by two Supreme Horn guards and brought to a pit full of earth ponies and pegasi running in hamster wheel-like devices. He was thrown into one and chained in. When he refused to run they charge the wheel with electricity, shocking him. He had to run to provide power to the fortress. After running for hours he felt like he was dying. They pulled him from the wheel and threw him into a cage. There was a skeleton inside.

Shadow woke up. He needed to escape. They would work him to death. He managed to use his fractured magic to melt the lock to the cage and escape. He ran, avoiding guards, until he came to the waste disposal tunnel's entrance. Two guards stood outside. He blasted them with magic and unlocked the grate before running in. He ran down the tunnel and heard guards closing in after him. He managed to make his way around a corner without them seeing, and they passed by him.

Shadow finally made his way to the exit of the waste disposal tunnel. He climbed out the ladder and ran for the hills. He had no food at all. He hoped he was close to a town, or he would starve in the hills. He found shelter under the tree as it started to rain. This was it. He was out of the frying pan and into the fire. Stallion versus wild.

Meanwhile…

Darkness Nightshade rubbed the scar on the right side of his face. It stood out against his dark gray fur. He had been a part of the Supreme Horn since their creation, all the way back to the day of their creationg. He was their msot powerful warrior, and second in command only to Silver Eclipse, their glorious leader. He sat down in his quarters. The train raid had been quite successful, and they had gathered quite a lot of slaves from it. The headquarters would be powered for months, years even. He had acquired a talisman from a shopkeeper in ponyville just before he had joined the supreme horn. He thought it was just a replica, but it was really something much more. One of the three talismans of legend. The containers for the souls of demons. The demon within his was called Orcus, and he had enhanced his abilities far past the point of what a refular pony could do. His magic was more powerful, he was faster, he was stronger, he had more stamina. Everything made him superior. Sometimes he fantasized about aking over, but he always thought better of it. Even so, if Silver was vulnerable, he could have a chance…

Meanwhile, in the royal palace…

Prince Maculatum stepped towards his sister, Princess Goldenflower. "Goldy, she's in a terrible state. She's not capable of running the country properly." He said, tenderly. "I-I… I know… I just hate to see her like this, and I hate the idea of this… I feels like we're just, taking power away from her at her most vulnerable time…" She said, her voice shaking. "I know. But she'll be able to choose which one of us she wants to rule while she recovers, okay? It'll be her choice." He said. "Alright… But, I can't go in there… Not now." She said, beginning to sob. "I'll do it. Don't worry." He said, and opened the doors to Princess Celestia's chamber.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Mother?" He called out. The drapes were pulled in front of the windows, and there was very little light in the room. He strained his eyes. "Is that you, son?" She asked, and he saw her sitting by a small table near the window. He drew closer and sat on the chair opposite to her. "We need to talk. I know how much Twilight and Luna meant to you, and you're in a really awful state." He said. "Goldy and I have agreed. You need a break. And we want you to appoint one of us to rule in your place for the time being." He said. "What? I… I can't choose between my children. Both of you can rule, as joint regent." She said. He cocked his head, and a tray with two teacups appeared before them. "Here, have some tea. Clear your head." He said. She picked up the tea and began to drink. "Hmm… This tastes a bit sweet." She said. "Oh, I added some sugar." He said, and drank from his cup. "Mother, you can't just cop out like this. You need to make a decision." He said. "Son, you know I can't do this. Especially right now." She said. "This tea is really sweet? How much sugar did you put in?" She asked. He narrowed his eyes and leaned towards her.

"None." He said, his voice going low.

"What?" She responded. "I didn't add any sugar, mother. I just added hemlock." He said. "Poor mother. Frail as always. The stress was just too much. Went into hysterics, you did. Then passed out right here." He said, standing up. "What?! How could you-" She was cut off as she became dizzy. "Ah, that's the vertigo. Guards!" He cried. Two guards and Goldenflower rushed inside as Celestia collapsed. "She went hysterical! She started yelling and then she just… She just collapsed." He said. "Oh no! Get her to the medical bay!" Goldenflower cried, and the guards began to carry her away. "Oh my gosh, brother… I can't believe this… Did she make a decision?" She asked, clearly distressed. "Yes. She said I should rule, since I was the older sibling." He said, quietly. "That… That makes since. You're just more experienced. We should get to the infirmary." She said. "Yes. Yes we should."

Shadow reached a small clearing. He had found a ruined piece of fabric that he now used as a cloak, and the rain had stopped. In the middle of the clearing was something strange. A stone statue. A stone statue of a pony wearing a necklace. The necklace was a talisman. Shadow was confused. He thought there was only three in existance? He pulled the talisman from the statue. If he was going to defeat the Supreme Horn, he needed the extra power. He had to risk it. He placed the talisman around his neck and a burst of demonic power infused into him. A female voice spoke inside his head. "What? Who are you? What happened?" She asked. "My name is Shadow Moon. You're a demon, right?" He asked in his thoughts. "Uh… Yes, my name is Noticula. I was imprisoned in this talisman a long time ago." She said. "Well, I guess you'll have to help me out now." He said. "Um, sure." She said. "I'll make you a deal." She said. "I'll help you out, but once we're done, you have to break the talisman and free me." She said. "Of course. You don't seem like other demons I've met." He said. "Thanks, I guess." She said. Shadow flew up. I need to reach a city he said, and started flying. In only a few minutes with his new demonic power he had reached a town. A train station was there. He could get back to Appaloosa, and back to Daisy to warn her.


End file.
